


Diez de Copas

by liriosdelosvalles



Category: Queen of the South (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Post 3x10, Speculation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-07-04 18:23:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15846834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liriosdelosvalles/pseuds/liriosdelosvalles
Summary: Speculation for 3x11.





	Diez de Copas

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Characters, events, some dialogue, and the title all belong to the Queen of the South writers. 
> 
> 2\. This has not been beta'd and was put together rather quickly, so there are a ton of mistakes. I'll probably go back and edit it later, but this is it for now.
> 
> 3\. This was initially going to be me trying to predict what will happen in the next episode, but then it turned into what I want to happen instead, so oh well.

_ “We have a rat. Someone gave up El Santo. They put a tracker in Guero’s necklace, and Devon Finch used it to track me here.” _

_ “Devon Finch...you don’t think....James?”  _

_ “I don’t know, but we have a mole.” _

 

Teresa doesn’t know what to do. She sails away from El Santo’s mansion, hitches a ride to the airport, and during her flight back to Phoenix, she sifts through the chaos in her head. El Santo’s business is gone. Someone in her own operation is a rat. Devon Finch is working with the government. _No_. She recalls the way the men raiding El Santo’s mansion said _yes,_ _sir_ through the walkie talkies. _Devon Finch_ is _the government._ And James used to work for him.

 

Pote’s voice echoes in her head.  _ “You don’t think...James?” _

 

James. Kelly Anne. El Charger. Tonto. Lil T. She doesn’t want to consider the fact that any one of them could betray them. They are her allies, her friends, her family. And yet,  _ someone _ betrayed them, or she wouldn’t have nearly been blown up. 

 

_ “...James?” _  She won’t think about him yet. She can’t. She has to save that for later. 

 

El Charger and Tonto. They came over from Camila’s side. They might still work for her. 

 

Lil T was still in the hospital after being attacked as a message to Teresa. The sight of her gruesome wounds are forever burned into Teresa’s mind. And thanks to Teresa, Lil T is estranged from her family. That could have stirred enough anger and resentment for her to turn on them. 

 

The plane lands in Phoenix late at night. She calls Pote to tell him to pick her up. “Don’t bring James with you.” 

 

There’s a pause. “Okay. I’m on my way.” 

  
  
  


They decide to stop at a diner and discuss everything that’s happened. The exhaustion from the past two days begins to settle in, and Teresa leans back against the red-vinyl booth and closes her eyes for a minute while the waitress brings over her coffee. She and Pote sit in silence for a moment as her mind begins to wander. Who could it be?

 

Kelly Anne? Her life was uprooted when she put a bullet in her husband’s brain to save Teresa’s life. She hasn’t been the same since. When Teresa found out that Kelly Anne was using, and skimming from her stock, she couldn’t bring herself to be angry. She only felt concern for her friend. Teresa can’t help but feel a certain kinship with Kelly Anne. They both fell in love with the wrong men, those men were killed, and both women inadvertently ended up on the run and fighting to survive. 

 

What could’ve driven Kelly Anne to become a mole? Teresa knows she’s been hurting, but...  _ “You’re stronger than you think,” _ Teresa told her once. She’d said it to comfort the crying woman, but she’d also believed it. Teresa had seen herself in Kelly Anne. She knows what it’s like to be stronger and smarter than people would think, to be constantly underestimated, used and abused, and still survive. But Teresa would never have snitched. She hadn’t thought Kelly Anne would either. Maybe she was wrong. 

 

Maybe...maybe it’s someone else. 

 

The waitress brings their orders to the table and walks away. Pote finally breaks the silence. 

 

“So what are we going to do about this mole?”

 

She doesn’t know. “We have to figure out a way to find out who it is without tipping them off. I was thinking we could ask Ivan to look at the tracker and see if he could tell us anything important about it, but I don’t even know if we can trust him. He could’ve been the one behind that tracker.” 

 

“How could someone put a tracker in Guero’s necklace?”

 

“I’m not sure. I only ever took it off in my bedroom.”

 

“And who’s been in your bedroom, Teresita?” 

 

She looks down at the calluses on her hands. “Kelly Anne came in the other day to talk before I left for Bolivia. And…James.” 

 

When Pote doesn’t reply, she glances at him. “I know you think it’s him. I know  _ why _ you think it’s him. But he’s not the only possible choice, and I don’t want to go there until I know more.”

 

“And if it is him?”

 

Teresa doesn’t reply. She takes a sip of her coffee. Swallows.

 

Two days ago, she’d woken up with her head pressed up against James’s shoulder, and a smile on her face. She listened to his steady breathing for a minute, then shifted up to press her lips against his neck, taking in the faint scent of cigarettes and soap. He began to stir, slowly opening his eyes and when they caught on hers, he gave her that small, soft smile of his. It was her favorite--the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, his eyes glittering. It filled her with an overwhelming affection. He’d leaned down and pressed a sweet kiss to her mouth. “Morning,” he said, his voice still rough with sleep. He reached up and gently tucked a curl behind her ear, brushing his fingers down her cheek. Still sporting her favorite smile, he started to absently play with the ends of her hair. It made her heart swell. She was happy.

 

Teresa’s chest aches with the memory now. 

 

“We should check the security footage on my computer,” she says.

 

Pote looks at her for a minute. “Yeah, I thought the same thing, so I brought it with me,” 

 

He reaches into a bag on the seat beside him that Teresa didn’t notice earlier and takes out her laptop, handing it over to her. Teresa turns the computer so Pote can see, and they start to comb through the past few days’ worth of footage. The cameras are only in the building’s exterior, so she can’t exactly see who planted the tracker. Still, they can catch someone doing something they shouldn’t be, and move on from there.

 

She watches the figures speed across the screen. Charger and Tonto play cards on the deck. Lil T smokes a cigarette in the corner and watches them. Pote practices shooting beer bottles. By the front door, Kelly Anne pulls out a vial of coke and snorts a bit before putting it back in her pocket, then wipes away tears and enters the house. Teresa checks the time stamp. It was about an hour before Kelly Anne came into her room to talk. 

 

Teresa grits her teeth and continues to watch.

 

She sees herself and James standing by her car and talking as he leans slightly against the hood and smokes. He says something, and she laughs. In the booth across from her, Pote’s teeth click together. She ignores him.

 

They watch everyone come and go from the house. There’s nothing out of the ordinary, other than Kelly Anne. Teresa’s stomach twists.

 

“Where is Kelly Anne right now?” she asks.

 

“Kelly Anne?” Pote clicks his tongue. “Come on, Teresa. She’s been into the coke a little too much, but she can’t lie that well.”

 

She stares at him. “You really think it’s James? You think he could be a  _ rat? _ ”

 

“I don’t know. I didn’t think so before, but... He worked for Finch. And it’s not the first time he’s planted a tracker, remember?” 

 

She can hardly forget. James gave her a game for Tony and had stolen money from Camila for the boy. When Teresa found out James had put a tracker in the game, she was livid. What she’d thought was a sweet gesture turned out to be a deceptive ploy. The thought leaves a bitter taste in her mouth. Still, she presses further.

 

“James has changed since then. He’s been on our team since Malta and saved both of us. Multiple times. He’s helped us take over Phoenix.”

 

“Yeah, and I was just starting to like him, too. But we have to face the facts. He’s the only one who we know has a connection to Finch. We don’t even know why he came to Malta in the first place. Finch could’ve sent him to spy on you.” 

 

“I know why he left Finch. He already told me.” She specifically remembers James’s haunted eyes when he told her what happened. The crack in his voice when he said,  _ “I can’t stop thinking about it.” _

 

Pote lets out a disapproving growl. “ _ Teresita _ . You’re letting your feelings for James cloud your judgment, and it’s dangerous.” 

 

She clenches her teeth. “And you’re underestimating Kelly Anne.  _ That’s _ dangerous. Look at the footage. Kelly Anne came to the house long before I knew she was there.” Before he can retort, she continues, “I know that it could be James. I’m not thinking about my feelings here. Like you said, we have to face the facts. The facts are Kelly Anne was already lying to me about taking the coke, and now we see her here going into the house when she shouldn’t have been.”

 

Pote doesn’t argue. “Okay. I’ll talk to Kelly Anne, and you talk to James. Let’s see if one of them says anything. But let’s do it in the morning. You should get some rest tonight, Teresita.” 

 

It’s not the best plan, but it’s more than they had an hour ago, she agrees. They pay the bill and head home.

  
  
  


When they get back to the house, it’s quiet. She looks forward to a long shower and a dreamless sleep, but she opens her bedroom door and is surprised to see James laying on his back in her bed in his pajamas, staring up at the ceiling with an arm behind his head. At the sound of her door opening, he whips his head to where she stands. “Teresa?”

 

He quickly gets to his feet. “Pote didn’t even tell me you called. When did you get back?” He takes in the wounds on her face, and his jaw ticks. He walks over to her. His hand brushes over the cuts by her eye. “Are you okay? What happened?” 

 

She isn’t prepared for this. She needs to think through what she’s going to say to him and how she’s going to approach this. Forcing her face to remain neutral, she replies with a carefully level voice, “I’m alright. I just got back. Things didn’t go well in Bolivia.” She hesitates. “Someone...Someone blew up El Santo’s mansion. We’ve lost our supplier.”

 

She gauges his reaction. He just looks genuinely shocked and confused. “Blew it up? Who the hell would do that?” 

 

Teresa ignores the weight on her chest. “I don’t know,” she answers truthfully. “But he’s furious. He’s left the business and wants revenge.” 

 

“ _ Shit _ . What are we going to do?” He reaches down and takes her hand in his. 

 

She looks up at him into his eyes and the weight in her heart grows heavier. She swallows. “I don’t know yet. Right now, I just want to sleep.” 

 

James rubs his thumb absently over her fingers. “Of course. Come on.” 

 

He leads her to the bed and lets go of her hand, turning off the lights as he goes. Pulling back the covers for her, he watches her as she takes her hair out of her bun and crawls into bed. After she’s settled in he asks, “Do you...do you want me to stay?” 

 

She considers it for a moment. It’s tempting, but. “No,” she says. “That’s alright.” 

 

She needs to make sure that, whatever she decides to do, it isn’t influenced by his closeness. Pote thinks that she is letting her heart cloud her mind. He doesn’t understand that she made a promise to herself while standing over Guero’s grave. Teresa would never let her feelings for a man rule her decisions again. 

 

James nods and, after a beat, leans down to kiss her temple. “Goodnight, then. We can decide what to do in the morning.” He leaves. 

 

Just a few minutes earlier, Teresa felt dead on her feet. Now, she is wide awake and staring at the ceiling like James was only a minute ago. She needs to consider the possibility that James has been lying to her for months and almost got her killed. 

 

But Teresa can only remember the way James took her hands in his nearly a year ago and looked earnestly into her eyes.  _ “We’re in this together.” _

 

After Guero “died” and her life with him was over, she didn’t think she would ever feel that kind of happiness again. Not until that first night with James. She crosses her arms over her chest and holds herself tightly as thinks about everything she and James have been through since they met. 

 

The soap trick on her first run to the airport. Lying to Camila about the maid. Giving himself up to the border patrol when she was dying of a scorpion sting. Giving her his gun so she could escape when they were busted by the DEA. Their first trip to Bolivia. Before she’d even realized it, she trusted him implicitly. In her first poison-induced dream, she realized just how safe he made her feel. Even in the hallucination, she knew his hands would be soft, and his kiss gentle. Always gentle. 

 

_ “Since the day we’ve met, I’ve been trying to keep you alive,” _ he’d said in Malta. She’d scoffed at it then, but. He was right, wasn’t he? 

 

She thinks about the gentle way his hand caressed the cuts on her face just now. The way he held her hand. His soft kiss goodbye. The ache that had settled in her chest the second she discovered that tracker in the ruins of El Santo’s mansion grew stronger.

 

She turns to her side and presses her face against the pillow. Facts. She needs to focus on the facts. 

 

When Devon Finch held them hostage at the winery a few weeks ago, he’d been desperate to get in touch with El Santo. Last night, he blew up El Santo’s mansion. El Santo was his target all along. He knew Teresa had a connection with El Santo, and he had a mole put a tracker put into her necklace, which she took from Guero’s body after he’d died a few weeks ago. Since then, she’s only ever taken the necklace off to shower or sleep and kept it in her bedroom. Whoever planted the tracker had to come into her bedroom some time in the past month and put it there.

 

_ If James is the mole… _ She takes a deep breath. If James is the mole, that would mean he hasn’t stopped working for Finch since he left Camila’s operation back nearly eight months ago. It would mean he’s only been by her side since Malta in order to gain her trust so that he could lead Finch to El Santo. 

 

But he’s been by her side since long before Malta, hasn’t he?  _ “Since the day we’ve met, I’ve been trying to keep you alive.” _

 

She turns onto her back again.

 

He hasn’t  _ always _ tried to keep her alive, though. There was that confrontation on the bus when he shot at her. She was stunned. Despite everything that had gone wrong, she didn’t think he’d do it. But.

 

Guero had asked him in Bolivia if he’d kill her if Camila ever gave the order.  _ “You have no idea what loyalty is,” _ he’d replied. Guero took that as a yes, but...Teresa remembers again the way James had shot at her on the bus. He’d missed. James never misses.  _ “If I wanted to kill you, you’d be dead,” _ he said in Malta. Teresa had believed him. Truth be told, she still does. Even though he stayed loyal to Camila, James made sure that Teresa made it out alive.

 

She knows James. He is a killer, but with a code. He believes in trust and loyalty. He believes in protecting their business, in protecting her.  _ “When they come for you,  _ I’ll _ be ready.” _

 

When he came to her asking to be let into her operation, he said he wanted to do business another way, and she felt as if she found a partner who understood her. Who believed in her.

 

She doesn’t know what to do. Until two days ago, she didn’t think James would ever be capable of betraying her. She still doesn’t think so. Yet she still has to consider the possibility.

 

“ _ You have a Judas among you,” _ El Santo said during that first trip. James was sure he meant Guero. So was Teresa. Even then, she couldn’t associate the word “Judas” with “James.” And who else could El Santo have been talking about other than the DEA informant? 

 

Reaching into her pocket, she pulls out Guero’s necklace. She considered leaving it when she left Bolivia, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. She rubs the grooves the locket with her thumb and sighs. She misses Guero. She loved him so much she nearly drowned in it. But he’s brought so much trouble into her life, even after death. She feels incredibly guilty for the thought, but it’s the truth. 

 

Teresa’s mind wanders back to James. The facts say that it is possible he is the mole working for Finch.

 

Everything she has ever learned about him says otherwise. 

 

Teresa has always prided herself on her instincts. They’ve kept her alive this long. Her gut is telling her that James is loyal to her and has always been, even when he was still working for Camila. Everything he’s done since they met is proof of that.

 

The worst part is that she wants to talk to him about all of this. She wants to discuss who the mole might be with him. She turns over again to face James’s usual side of the bed and smiles humorlessly into the darkness. The irony is not lost on her.

 

She imagines how their conversation is going to go in the morning. She’ll have to level the accusation and see his reaction. She remembers after Guero died when she told James he could leave. He looked so hurt. 

 

She decides to go with her gut. She’ll talk to him about it in the morning. Tell him what really happened in Bolivia and about the tracker. Give him the chance to defend himself. Then she can rule him out, and they can figure out who the real mole is together.

 

She finally falls asleep.

  
  
  


There is a knock at her door just as she steps out of her bathroom in fresh clothes, towel drying her wet hair. “Come in,” she calls.

 

It’s Pote. “I found something,” he says, holding up a small, gray object in his hand.

 

“What is it?” she asks. She sets down her towel and takes it from him.

 

“I think it’s a recording device.” He pauses. “I found it in James’s room.” 

 

She looks up, surprised. He hands it over to her, and she examines it. “I’m going to talk to him. I’ll ask him about it. But I don’t think he’s the one who betrayed us.”

 

“Teresita, open your eyes.” 

 

“I know you think I trust him because i’ve because I’ve been sleeping with him, but that’s not why. I trust him because he’s earned it. You said to me once that he’d die for me. Now I want to talk to him and see if that’s really true, or if he’s been lying to us this whole time.”

 

Pote is quiet for a moment before answering, “I don’t want to believe it’s him either.” 

 

She meets his eye. “The plan was for you to find Kelly Anne while I talked to James. So I’m going to go talk to James.” 

 

She leaves the room before Pote can answer.

  
  
  


James’s room is at the end of the hall. Teresa knocks on the door, and she hears his muffled voice ask her to enter. She opens the door to see him sitting at his table, cleaning his gun. He looks up and sees its her. Her favorite smile spreads across his face until he reads the seriousness in her expression. His brow creases. “What’s wrong?”

 

She crosses the room and takes the seat next to him. She takes a deep breath. “Devon Finch blew up El Santo’s mansion.”

 

His eyes widen. “ _ What? _ ” 

 

“The CIA raided the place after the explosion. Everyone else was dead except me and El Santo. I heard one of the men talking to someone on a walkie-talkie, and it was Devon Finch.”

 

James stares at her, disbelieving. “You’re saying Devon Finch is  _ CIA _ ?” 

 

“Yes.” Her head tilts. She studies him carefully.

 

He places his gun and cleaning rod on the table. It’s quiet for a moment. “I don’t get it. If he’s working for the  _ government _ , then...Why is he one of the biggest cocaine distributors in the country? Why the fuck would he have me kill that man in Dallas even when I thought he was innocent?”

 

“I don’t know,” replies Teresa. It’s the truth. She stays quiet for a moment, letting him process. Before she loses her nerve, she continues, “There’s more.”

 

James glances at her. “What do you mean?”

 

She pulls Guero’s necklace out of her pocket and hands it to him. “Look what I found in it.” 

 

He takes it in his hand, and as he narrows his eyes at it, the thought strikes her. Ff he really is the mole, he might try to kill her right now. She suddenly becomes aware of the gun tucked into the waistband of her jeans at her back. 

 

“Is this...a  _ bug _ ?” He’s angry, but Teresa examines his face intently and sees that he’s not angry at her. Not yet. Only at the news she’s just delivered. 

 

“I think it’s a tracker,” she answers. She sees him piece the puzzle together. 

 

He looks up at her as he realizes the implication of what he holds in his hand. “Someone planted this in your necklace, and that’s how Devon Finch found you at El Santo’s mansion. Someone’s betrayed us.” 

 

“Yes.” She keeps her face neutral. “We have a mole.”

 

James nods. “Alright. We should check the security camera footage. See who’s been going in and out of the house. See if anyone is acting strangely. There’s not a whole lot of people who could be the mole, so we can make a list of suspects, and Pote and I can start ruling them out one by one. Then we can...” 

 

He trails away when he sees Teresa look down at the floor and gently takes her hand in his. “Teresa?” His concerned eyes watch her, waiting for a response. Teresa considers him for a moment. She wants to reach up and smooth out the angry furrow in his brow. Her eyes fall to the his gun on the table, and she shifts in her chair. 

 

She doesn’t think it’s him. Not really. But she’s been wrong before. 

 

“Are you on that list?” she asks.

 

James blinks. His hand falls away. He finally says, “What?” But he knows what she meant. He looks at her with the same hurt expression he gave her when she told him a few weeks ago that he could leave and he’d replied,  _ “I’m not leaving. I’m just trying to protect you. Protect us.” _

 

She continues to hold his gaze, but doesn’t say anything. He lets out a colorless laugh, and stands. He walks toward the large windows on the other side of the room. After a heavy silence, he turns to face her again, his face now betraying no emotion whatsoever, mirroring hers. He says coolly, “Is this an interrogation?” 

 

Teresa meets his eye. She places the recording device Pote found earlier on the table. “Pote got this from your room.”

 

James clenches his jaw, and slowly walks back to the table where she still sits. He stops to stand in front of her for a beat, and his eyes burn into hers. Finally, he picks up the device so he can look at it more closely. 

 

He sets it back down and says to her, “I don’t know what this is or where it came from.”

 

“We think it’s a recording device. So how did it get into your room, James?”

 

He stares. “ _ I don’t know _ . The mole probably planted it.” 

 

They are silent for a moment before he speaks again, “Come on, Teresa. Do you really think, if I was the  _ rat _ , I’d be stupid enough to leave something like that lying around in my room so you can connect it back to me? Do you really think I could be a  _ snitch _ ?” He growls out the last word in disgust.

 

Teresa doesn’t really think he could be. It’s not in his nature. James has always been loyal to a fault, and she knew it when she met him. She doesn’t say that out loud, though. She simply repeats, “Are you on that list, James?”

 

“ _ No _ . No, I’m not. Do you think I am?” His face breaks its neutrality. He’s visibly upset. There is a tension in his shoulders, and she hates it. Wants to trust him.

 

“Pote thinks you are,” she answers finally, breaking eye contact at last to look down at her hands.

 

He scoffs and shakes his head. “Of course he does. But I want to know what  _ you _ think.”

 

She says slowly, “Pote thinks that my...my feelings for you are affecting my judgment. I’m worried he might be right.”

 

He lets out a breath. “ _ Teresa _ .” James sits back down next to her. 

 

She just continues, “You did work for Devon once. There was a recording device in your room. You...had access to my necklace. And this isn’t the first time you’ve planted a tracker. You told Camila about Tony.”

 

James gives her a long, hard look. “You know why I left Devon.” He swallows. “I already told you that. I don’t know where the device came from, and I haven’t touched Guero’s necklace. As for Tony...” He sighs. “Camila doesn’t know about him.”

 

Now she’s confused. “What do you mean?” 

 

“I didn’t tell Camila about Tony. She was convinced that you were hiding something, and she wanted me to take care of it. So I did.” 

 

“So you did,” she repeated. She couldn’t believe this. “How can I trust you when you put Tony in danger like that?”

 

“He wasn’t ever in any danger, okay? It was just to keep tabs on you just in case you ran. A precautionary thing. I was doing my job.”

 

“How do I know you’re not doing your job right now? Spying on me for Finch?”

 

He’s irritated now. “Because my job now is to protect  _ you _ .” 

 

“How do I know that? How do I know you weren’t going to go after Tony to get to me?”

 

Their eyes meet. “Because. Because you have to know that I would never hurt you like that. Ever.” 

 

Teresa swallows, and her gaze falls to the floor. He takes her hand in his.

 

Her phone rings, and it makes her jump. She brings it to her ear. “Hello?” 

 

It’s Pote. “I can’t find Kelly Anne anywhere.” Teresa closes her eyes as he continues. “She’s not at the house or the winery, and her motel room’s empty, but her car’s still out front.”

 

“Okay, come back to the house. We’ll call Ivan and see if he can track her down.”

 

They hang up, and Teresa meets James’s questioning gaze. “Kelly Anne was on our list, too. Pote can’t find her. So it looks like you’re probably not the snitch.” 

 

James lets out a small laugh. “Yeah. I know.” They’re quiet for a moment, and he frowns. “How could you ever think I was?” 

 

She struggles to explain. “I told you once that I have trouble trusting people. The way that I feel about you...It scares me. Because I’ve felt this way once before, and I was happy. But then I wasn’t, and I ended up in Camila’s warehouse.” 

 

Teresa looks into his eyes and sees realization dawn on his face as he understands what she means. He threads his fingers into her hair as he pulls her into his arms. His mouth is on her temple when he says, “Teresa, I told you I’m not leaving. I promise.” 

 

Teresa lowers her head, and he brings his hands up to hold either side of her face. He leans his forehead against hers as his thumb rubs small, gentle circles into her cheek. 

 

Finally, she breaks the silence. “Come on.” She stands and pulls him up with her. “We’ve got work to do.” 


End file.
